EcoRenovator - View Single Post - standby losses from the hotwater tank add up

strider3700 · 10-22-12, 02:43 PM

I'm just reading that post on the super insulated tank.

I'm not sure how useful his numbers actually are although the insulation idea is good. First issue is he has a gas heater converted to electric. So he's got a big vent through the middle of the tank to lose heat from. he's also got a 520 watt element to do the heating. meaning he was running the tank for 3 to 6 hours each night to heat the water. doing the math that means before insulating the tank he used 3.12 kwh and after he used 1.56. Plus he states that he's using a timer which has reduced his runtimes already.

So super insulated and using a timer he's using more power then I am with some of the shelf blankets. Either he has his temperatures way higher then I do ( Straight hot is too hot for me to shower in but my wife can stand it) or something else is costing him a ton of energy.
I suppose the other possibility is he doesn't run the tank at all during the day so his nighttime readings are also recharging the used heat not just the standby. In that case he's better then my tank.

10-22-12, 02:43 PM	#30
strider3700 Master EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vancouver Island BC Posts: 745 Thanks: 23 Thanked 37 Times in 30 Posts	I'm just reading that post on the super insulated tank. I'm not sure how useful his numbers actually are although the insulation idea is good. First issue is he has a gas heater converted to electric. So he's got a big vent through the middle of the tank to lose heat from. he's also got a 520 watt element to do the heating. meaning he was running the tank for 3 to 6 hours each night to heat the water. doing the math that means before insulating the tank he used 3.12 kwh and after he used 1.56. Plus he states that he's using a timer which has reduced his runtimes already. So super insulated and using a timer he's using more power then I am with some of the shelf blankets. Either he has his temperatures way higher then I do ( Straight hot is too hot for me to shower in but my wife can stand it) or something else is costing him a ton of energy. I suppose the other possibility is he doesn't run the tank at all during the day so his nighttime readings are also recharging the used heat not just the standby. In that case he's better then my tank.